From a photograph by Solomon D. Butcher of four daughters of rancher Joseph M. Chrisman, at their sod house in Custer County, Nebraska. From left to right, Harriet, Elizabeth, Lucie, and Ruth. Photographed in 1886.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Interesting Times

Boring is better!

Last week was exciting for my family, and not in a pleasant way. Two bad things happened on Tuesday, June 14:

Keely's knitting bag was stolen from her (unlocked) car while she was home for lunch. A thief opened the car door and took it, apparently thinking it was a purse. Keely had all her knitting needles in her bag, some special yarn, and the project that she's been working on. She was outraged and traumatized, in the way that you are when someone steals something that is dear to you and part of your life.

Isaac drove to Lexington, KY, to visit a friend, and had a car accident. He was driving on a busy street and glanced down at his speedometer. In those few seconds, a car ahead of him (four cars up) came to an abrupt stop. Everyone was slamming on their brakes, but Isaac didn't slam quick enough and he rear-ended the car ahead of him. He was unhurt, except that the impact did extremely bend his toes on his driving foot. He was also a little bruised from the airbag. No one else was injured, either. We are very thankful!!

Isaac called home from the accident scene to tell me what happened, and I was absolutely weak in the knees when I heard about it. His friend rescued him from the roadside and took him to the emergency room to see about his foot. It was numb after the accident, but it began to hurt as feeling returned. They determined that it was not broken, so that was a good thing.

When I got my wits about me, a few minutes after talking to Isaac, I realized that there was no point in driving to Lexington until the next day. It was already 4 pm in the Eastern Time Zone, and Lexington is a three hour drive from where we live.

Dennis was enroute to Kansas City that afternoon, to visit his mother. He was a little weak in the knees when he heard the news, too! He volunteered to turn around and come back home, but I urged him to go on and visit his mom. (This is a summary of several excited telephone calls between us!)

And poor Keely! I had planned to go to Clarksville with her that evening when she got off work. When I called her to tell her about Isaac's accident and my change of plans, she was already distraught about the theft of her knitting bag. And, just to add to the stress, Keely's house was crowded with boxes and displaced furniture all last week. Their landlady was having some repairs done, so Keely and Taurus had to completely empty one of the rooms in their house, and then a few days later, another room.

I went to Lexington the next day and got Isaac. We found his car at the towing service and cleaned it out. I took the photo below at that time. The insurance company couldn't decide whether to transfer the car to a Lexington adjuster or tow it back to Hopkinsville. After dithering for a few days, they totaled it and left it in Lexington. Dennis arrived home safe and sound from his trip, and he has been taking care of all the details with the insurance company, thank goodness.

A few days after the fact, Keely went to the police station and filed a report on the theft of her knitting bag. The police department called her back within an hour and said, "Ma'am, we think we have your missing property." A homeowner on a neighboring street had found it in the ditch in front of his house. He realized that it was probably stolen and turned it into the police. The bag was wet inside, but all of the knitting needles, etc. were still in it.

This week is going better. The repairs at Keely and Taurus's house are finished, so they are moving their furniture back and restoring order. We're looking for a suitable replacement car for Isaac, and his foot is feeling better. Keely has been washing the mildew smell out of her bag and yarn, and she's back to knitting. And I have finally written in my blog again.

One of Keely's recent projects (future gifts). These little
critters are ba-bombs which are characters in the Mario
video games. I hope I am identifying them correctly!

Whoa! What a week! I'm glad this week is calmer for you and yours! Justyn had a fender bender (small damage for him - totaled the other car) in the parking lot at work last year. His first words were, "Mom - I'm OK." At that point my heart fell out my shoes and I had to sit down! I was at the doctors office with strep throat and couldn't leave to go to him. Nothing is more disturbing to a Mom than when her "peeps" are not alright!

IT IS STILL BEST to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasure; and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.(Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867-1957)